Everyone secretly hopes that 'true love' really exists, yet no one can deny that reality usually disappoints, and therefore they will question anyone's ability to make the claim that I just did. Doesn't all newly weds proclaim "true love for ever after"? Well, there's certainly merit to that point of view. But I also know that I'm right. Here's why.
Let me start by saying that before I got married, or even met a likely candidate, I made a decision. I decided to be honest, open and faithful to my mate, full stop. Because that is what trust is built on, and a relationship is doomed from the start if it's not built on trust.
- First of all, I had to decide that a happy marriage to one man is what I want, and that's what I'll work for. Based on what I've seen and experienced, true happiness and trust in relationships and love is obtained only through marriage to a single person, basically based on the Bible's description of it. Please know that it is important to really believe that from the start, otherwise you WILL want to look around when your marriage reaches an unhappy point (which it will). If you don't believe that, you'll never be happily married. Yes, a happy marriage starts out with this as its foundation.
- There was a very important principle I needed to consider for my marriage to work - I need to decide what I want from my husband, then I MUST BE THAT PERSON first. This step takes place long before the actual "I do". It's a universal principle that is called by many different names. Some call it karma, others call it "what you sow, you will reap", and others say that "the wheel turns". Irrelevant of what you believe, your choices and actions will come back to you, whether good or bad. If I want my future husband to be faithful, I must be faithful. If he must love me unconditionally, I must love unconditionally. And by applying this to relationships prior to being married, I sowed into my marriage, and am reaping the benefits of it.
- This is the most important factor that is the greatest downfall in most marriages: real love. If you don't know what 1 Cor. 13:4-8 has to say about love, then you cannot even start to comprehend it. And that is still very much within human ability. The Bible says "God is love". That is a very powerful and important statement. If you can accept that God created man (meaning man's abilities and provision comes from Him), and that marriage is a type for Christ and his bride (see Eph. 5:22-33), the concept of love will start to take on new meaning. Christ loved us first without waiting to be loved back. He laid down His life to sanctify his bride, to win her over - unconditional, complete, perfect love. He expects us as believers to love one another, not with human love, but with Agapé. That type of love you can only have if you know God, because 'God is love'.What I'm trying to say is, if you know God, He teaches you to love like that. Then you must trust Him to send someone across your path that loves Him in that same way. Chances are you'll have a marriage made to last forever. This type of love doesn't demand, doesn't seek its own, doesn't get jealous. And even when one of you err, this love covers instead of passing blame.
In my marriage I can honestly say that we've had many typically 'human' days, you know, the type where you forget that you're suppose to cover up, so instead you simply expose, yell, spite, and all those things that could wreck a fragile relationship. Yet, the fact that we both made decisions even before marriage, and the fact that God is the witness to our promises, that is what makes this an forever marriage. As with most things in life, it is only the time and effort you put into something that makes you good at it. An expert is someone who has the most experience, and experience is directly related to the time spent on it.
Thus, you can only become good at love, and good with being married, if you stick with it long enough. No master chef got that title without the flops; even the greatest men in history have their moments of shame. It's only if you stick with it that you grow.
